1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device driver installer and an installation method which install, in an information processing apparatus, a device driver to control an image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information processing apparatus such as a computer normally uses a device driver to control an image forming apparatus such as a printer or an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) and make it execute processing such as printing. A device driver is software having a function of controlling an image forming apparatus and installed in an information processing apparatus as needed. Since image forming apparatuses have different functions depending on their types, device drivers for controlling them need to be developed and provided in accordance with the apparatus types. Developing device drivers and distributing them to users are very burdensome for any manufacturer which develops many kinds of image forming apparatuses.
In general, an operation of installing, updating, and evaluating device drivers is very cumbersome for a user. If the device drivers exist for the respective types of image forming apparatuses, the maintenance of them increases the burden on the user. To lighten the workload on the user side concerning the device drivers, it is effective to provide a generic device driver capable of controlling a plurality of kinds of image forming apparatus having different functions.
The generic device driver has a plurality of control functions corresponding to a plurality of kinds of image forming apparatuses. In addition, the generic device driver is preferably configured to permit customization according to the functions of an image forming apparatus to be controlled.
The generic device driver is also preferably automatically customized for an image forming apparatus as a control target and installed in an information processing apparatus without making the user select the control functions.
How to provide a generic device driver is proposed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-302031 (patent reference 1). In the method described in patent reference 1, a generic printer driver extracts configuration data from a printing apparatus, stores it in a nonvolatile storage device, and automatically customizes itself in accordance with the configuration data.
Generally, there is a variety of image forming apparatuses ranging from single-function products to multi-function products. A generic device driver which should control all kinds of image forming apparatuses by itself needs to have all functions provided by them. However, the generic device driver cannot simultaneously have functions with an exclusive relationship.
The generic device driver customizes itself by acquiring function information from an image forming apparatus. However, if the function information transfer amount is limited, the function information cannot completely be transferred, or transfer takes a long time.
If an image forming apparatus to be used is unrecognizable because of, for example, an old model or a new product, and whether it complies with the generic device driver is undeterminable, device driver installation fails.